Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting

Ian Kernohan

29 October 2015

At yesterday's FOMC meeting, the option of a December rate hike was kept open. This was not a big surprise in itself, but the tone of the statement was perhaps a bit more hawkish than expected, in particular the reference to the 'next meeting'.

A December hike now depends on the next two sets of payrolls and whether market volatility spikes again. Aside from payrolls itself, most labour market data has been reasonably robust.

The Federal Reserve has succeeded in shifting market expectations to around 50/50 on a December hike, which allows them to keep the debate open, in the run up to their next meeting.

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